Jesus Christ Carries the Emotional Pain of Injustice

Leighton Medley our BPCA Outreach Minister has returned to Pakistan to reach new communities with the true Gospel of Christ and to continue the discipling
those who have been already been reached through our previous campaigns. Leighton's remit for this work is quite simple, he is to bolster the faith
of Christians who have little access to regular church services setting up bible study leaders who will one day become ministers of the Gospel in rural
communities, he is to bring revival and better understanding to Christian churches in Pakistan many of which have adopted a very legalistic theology
and have forgotten the need for repentance, faith in Christ and the need to place our trust in Him. Leighton has also been reaching out to Muslims
and we hope that soon his work will provide a dividend by bringing others to the family of God.
He has been having great success with many believers expressing revival, churchgoers committing their lives to Christ, and Muslims taking an interest in the Gospel though yet to commit to Christ. We hope with further donations to make Leighton's role a permanent one in two years time. For this we will need the help and support of those who was to see Christ's gospel flourishing in Pakistan and seek you help to finance this important ministry. One of our costs is the purchase of bibles at £4 each. If you would like to help please donate by clicking (here).

Below is one of Leighton's recent accounts of a trip to the city of Burewala, Punjab:

On 14th November we undertook to visit Burewala, in order to visit the family of Sharoon Masih, a young teenager who was tragically killed, all because
of an argument over which water cooler to drink from. The truth being, that he was picked on because he dared to drink from the cooler that was for
Muslims only. This has sinister connotations with the situation in the Deep South of America, where once upon a time not so long ago, racial segregation
was a reality. The same seems to be apparent in parts of Pakistan, where Christians daily face the fear of persecution and discrimination due to religious
grounds.

Upon meeting the family of Sharoon, one still senses the shock and despair they are feeling. To compound matters, Ilyas, Sharoon’s father lost
his job, leaving the family without an income, but the BPCA, thanks to donations are supporting the family during this difficult time, as they
try to get back to their feet. Counselling families such as these is never an easy task, but we must in situations like this, lead them to the
God who suffers, namely to the cross. Hebrews 4:15 tells us “we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Our Lord knows our pain, He too, faced rejection. Isaiah 53 recounts the suffering
servant who “hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” The incarnation of
the Lord Christ brought God to us in human form, as one of us, to know life in a fallen world, it’s pain and rejection. In fact God so loves us,
that he freely came amongst us to show compassion on us, by living as one of us, so He could ultimately redeem us. That makes God personal to us,
because He knows us.

The Psalms are also replete with the full range of emotions towards God. While speaking and praying with Sharoon’s family, I mentioned that
we can pray for justice in the world and of how perfect justice belongs to God. Psalm 94 gives us a perfect illustration of how the Lord will
avenge His people, in verse 23, “yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off.” I pray for the Lord’s justice as their hearing was the day after
on the 15th, and we hope and trust in the Lord, that justice will be upheld but if not in this life, then certainly in the next.

These visits are important and serve as reminder to all of us in the West, that to live for Christ comes quite often in other parts of the
world, at a price that we in the privileged parts of the world do not understand. We do well to remember these families in our prayers,
because the way things are going, we too, may be faced with our decisions on what we are prepared to sacrifice for our faith in Christ,
which may involve even the giving of our lives. May God bless you all in Jesus name.